East Midlands Railway livery and station branding

[RealTrains07]

Apparently, as of today thanks to the window hangers, EMR have decided to withdraw the last HST a week early...

EMR twitter has updated saying that the HST have been taken out of service today but will be back for the final week along with extra staff.

pretty much a last warning really

We must consider the safety of everyone travelling so we have had to make the difficult decision to remove this train from service today. We are working to have extra staff next week so we can continue to run them safely on their final week in service. ^PB

 

[Ethan1852]

Apparently, as of today thanks to the window hangers, EMR have decided to withdraw the last HST a week early...

They have been pulled out of service today. https://twitter.com/EastMidRailway/status/1391439618999037961

We must consider the safety of everyone travelling so we have had to make the difficult decision to remove this train from service today. We are working to have extra staff next week so we can continue to run them safely on their final week in service. ^PB

There is apparently a meeting happening tonight. An official announcement will hopefully be made soon.

 

[greatvoyager]

They have been pulled out of service today. https://twitter.com/EastMidRailway/status/1391439618999037961



There is apparently a meeting happening tonight. An official announcement will hopefully be made soon.

Such a shame some people won’t just follow the rules.

 

[43055]

NL55 and 43305/306/316/319 are at Ely.

153302/368/374 are with TfW (302 and 374 for spares, I believe - not sure if they have left Ely yet)

Oh, and it's "125 Group", not "125group"

Thanks. 153374 has landed in Wales but I'm not sure about 302 and 368 but moved them to the TfW line.

Also added 43238 and 43310 to the Withdrawn section and will leave with NL56 to Ely tomorrow.

360116 and 360119 now has EMR Connect branding.

 

[LowLevel]

Thanks. 153374 has landed in Wales but I'm not sure about 302 and 368 but moved them to the TfW line.

Also added 43238 and 43310 to the Withdrawn section and will leave with NL56 to Ely tomorrow.

360116 and 360119 now has EMR Connect branding.

153302 definitely went to Worksop, see my earlier photo

 

[spotify95]

Well, so far I am impressed by the 180's that are used on the MML.

Advantages:

1. Acceleration seems to be better than on a 222 - though both are good
2. Interior feels/looks more modern since the seats on the 180s aren't falling apart (has been seen on a 222)
3. RF reception is INFINITELY better on 3G/4G/GPS/Wi-Fi etc - I am getting a solid 4G signal, like on the 43s, and whilst FM reception was iffy at Kettering, it was fine from Mkt Harborough to Leicester. Not as good as a 43, but once again INFINITELY better than a 222. The poor FM at Kettering may be due to the overhead 25kV AC? GPS was fine, and these trains do travel at the 110mph line speed (confirmed via GPS).
4. Plug sockets AND USB sockets supplied, working fine.
5. Daylight lighting compared to warm white of 222s (personal preference)

Disadvantages:

1. Seats maybe not as comfortable as a 222 - still perfectly adequate
2. Engine noise slightly louder than a 222
3. Lighting is older fluorescent (instead of the lights in the 222s) and a couple didn't work - easily fixable

Overall (in my opinion) the 180s are MUCH BETTER than a 222 on the Midland Mainline.

Apparently, as of today thanks to the window hangers, EMR have decided to withdraw the last HST a week early...

I looked at Wellingborough station today and the 08:07 from WEL to STP was definitely a HST (not the one with the purple & intercity power units). So they are still running HSTs.

 

[43102EMR]

Well, so far I am impressed by the 180's that are used on the MML.

Advantages:

1. Acceleration seems to be better than on a 222 - though both are good
2. Interior feels/looks more modern since the seats on the 180s aren't falling apart (has been seen on a 222)
3. RF reception is INFINITELY better on 3G/4G/GPS/Wi-Fi etc - I am getting a solid 4G signal, like on the 43s, and whilst FM reception was iffy at Kettering, it was fine from Mkt Harborough to Leicester. Not as good as a 43, but once again INFINITELY better than a 222. The poor FM at Kettering may be due to the overhead 25kV AC? GPS was fine, and these trains do travel at the 110mph line speed (confirmed via GPS).
4. Plug sockets AND USB sockets supplied, working fine.
5. Daylight lighting compared to warm white of 222s (personal preference)

Disadvantages:

1. Seats maybe not as comfortable as a 222 - still perfectly adequate
2. Engine noise slightly louder than a 222
3. Lighting is older fluorescent (instead of the lights in the 222s) and a couple didn't work - easily fixable

Overall (in my opinion) the 180s are MUCH BETTER than a 222 on the Midland Mainline.


I looked at Wellingborough station today and the 08:07 from WEL to STP was definitely a HST (not the one with the purple & intercity power units). So they are still running HSTs.

Just for background of what I posted yesterday - an EMR dispatcher as well as several other staff members tweeted that they were withdrawn permanently as the HST ended the day at Nottingham and ran ECS to Etches Park, which was tweeted straight after the move happened. EMR later confirmed not long after I posted this that the service was withdrawn for the rest of the day citing safety concerns, and that the decision to withdraw them early permanently was still under close review.

 

[Chiltern006]

170532 in new livery. credit to Joe Askey on FB

 

[43102EMR]

170532 in new livery. credit to Joe Askey on FB

Interesting how it came to Etches Park rather than Tyseley - guess this was one of the units going to EMR for the TTC this weekend.

 

[Robertj21a]

HSTs still running today.

 

[43102EMR]

HSTs still running today.

And from what I read on Twitter, seems as though enthusiasts are behaving themselves - hopefully this will keep up until they’re withdrawn this weekend.

 

[43 302]

And from what I read on Twitter, seems as though enthusiasts are behaving themselves - hopefully this will keep up until they’re withdrawn this weekend.

That'd be because they're in school...

 

[43102EMR]

That'd be because they're in school...

That and the celebrity power cars are out of service for a few days for cleaning/PR...

 

[The_Train]

That and the celebrity power cars are out of service for a few days for cleaning/PR...

I don't think it is anything to do with which power cars are out - it is entirely to do with the point @43 302 made I'm afraid. This might become a consideration for EMR when they decide whether to stretch the final day into Saturday or end it all on Friday as I suspect Saturday will just be a repeat of the Sunday just gone. It's all just very, very sad but unfortunately, based on my impression of modern society, not really surprising!

Interesting how it came to Etches Park rather than Tyseley - guess this was one of the units going to EMR for the TTC this weekend.

I noticed that this one has the EMR branding on it and, I might be wrong but, I don't think the ones that went back to WMR had that added to the livery?!?

Out of interest, as much as I take depot allocations with a pinch of salt these days, do we know if these 170s are to be tagged to Eastcroft or Etches Park primarily?

 

[43102EMR]

I don't think it is anything to do with which power cars are out - it is entirely to do with the point @43 302 made I'm afraid. This might become a consideration for EMR when they decide whether to stretch the final day into Saturday or end it all on Friday as I suspect Saturday will just be a repeat of the Sunday just gone. It's all just very, very sad but unfortunately, based on my impression of modern society, not really surprising!


I noticed that this one has the EMR branding on it and, I might be wrong but, I don't think the ones that went back to WMR had that added to the livery?!?

Out of interest, as much as I take depot allocations with a pinch of salt these days, do we know if these 170s are to be tagged to Eastcroft or Etches Park primarily?

I’d say that point would be the main reason, but there would be a lot of people out as well to see the celebrity power cars. I’m just hoping a lot of the younger “enthusiasts” don’t spoil the rail tour on Thursday...

Re the EMR 170s - 170503 returned to Tyseley in the same state as 532, and operated on the Birmingham to Shrewsbury route. Not too sure as to whether it did the Herefords...

 

[43096]

I’d say that point would be the main reason, but there would be a lot of people out as well to see the celebrity power cars. I’m just hoping a lot of the younger “enthusiasts” don’t spoil the rail tour on Thursday...

The tour is probably lower risk in that regard than a service train as the level of stewarding mitigates it.

 

[greatvoyager]

That and the celebrity power cars are out of service for a few days for cleaning/PR...

There are some good photos of them side by side on some Facebook groups.

 

[43102EMR]

The tour is probably lower risk in that regard than a service train as the level of stewarding mitigates it.

That’s true - 125group/BLS have stated they won’t hesitate to remove people from the train where possible on the day, so guess we’ll have to see how it goes.

 

[DBS92042]

I note that 156902 went to Wolverton Works today, is this for a refurb or just general maintenance?

 

[43102EMR]

I note that 156902 went to Wolverton Works today, is this for a refurb or just general maintenance?

Technically they are subleased to EMR now from Northern, so wouldn’t surprise me if it’s for a refurb

 

[fgwrich]

The tour is probably lower risk in that regard than a service train as the level of stewarding mitigates it.

Also, the fact that the tour runs on a Thursday morning should also reduce the risk somewhat. Those who seem to have caused some of the trouble this far should either be in School or College.

 

[LowLevel]

I note that 156902 went to Wolverton Works today, is this for a refurb or just general maintenance?

They've been popping to Wolverton for work for a while. I don't think it's a refurb, yet.

 

[43102EMR]

Also, the fact that the tour runs on a Thursday morning should also reduce the risk somewhat. Those who seem to have caused some of the trouble this far should either be in School or College.

It wouldn’t surprise me for that very reason if the last day is on Friday as opposed to Saturday - now that the 360s have entered service on the Corby branch, I can imagine EMR putting them on the shuttle prior to the TTC Sunday to release 222s to St Pancras.

 

[Merle Haggard]

It wouldn’t surprise me for that very reason if the last day is on Friday as opposed to Saturday - now that the 360s have entered service on the Corby branch, I can imagine EMR putting them on the shuttle prior to the TTC Sunday to release 222s to St Pancras.

Tangentially, is the third Cl180 diagram still being covered by a Cl222? If that was worked to traction diagram and, with a shuffle (I know it's not straightforward!), one Cl222 replaced by a Cl360 there would be two Cl222s to replace the HSTs.

 

[DDB]

There is also warnings on the EMR website about expected busy services on Saturday due to Leicester playing at Wembley with spectators allowed so if I were them I wouldn't want the hassle of enthusiasts on the same day.

 

[43096]

There is also warnings on the EMR website about expected busy services on Saturday due to Leicester playing at Wembley with spectators allowed so if I were them I wouldn't want the hassle of enthusiasts on the same day.

But the capacity of the HSTs would be useful...

 

[fgwrich]

But the capacity of the HSTs would be useful...

...would be even more useful if they could have kept the sets at 8 car though...

 

[DDB]

But the capacity of the HSTs would be useful...

Not if they are full of people who are just riding up and down rather than travelling somewhere!

 

[Skymonster]

Last Saturday 15th May marked the retirement of EMR's iconic HSTs from the Midland Main Line - but we're not quite finished celebrating their legacy just... | By We Are EMR - Facebook

Last Saturday 15th May marked the retirement of EMR's iconic HSTs from the Midland Main Line - but we're not quite finished celebrating their legacy just...

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Last Saturday 15th May marked the retirement of EMR's iconic HSTs from the Midland Main Line - but we're not quite finished celebrating their legacy just yet. Something special is coming. 7 days to go...

 

[XCTurbostar]

Last Saturday 15th May marked the retirement of EMR's iconic HSTs from the Midland Main Line - but we're not quite finished celebrating their legacy just yet. Something special is coming. 7 days to go...

Wait what?